TSA CHANGES RESTRICTIONS ON TRANSIENT PILOTS
The TSA has enacted a new security directive (SD-8G) that means transient pilots flying into airports with commercial service will not need an airport badge or background check as previously required. The directive takes effect June 1 and instead requires pilots to "remain close to their aircraft" leaving it only for trips to and from the FBO or airport exit, according to AOPA. The TSA is expected to provide future guidance regarding self-fueling and emergencies. The new rules target transient pilots -- those pilots based at commercial-use airports who lease space or maintain a presence will still need to go through procedures and acquire a valid badge if they intend to roam the airport without an escort. Airports looking to avoid the badging will need to approve an alternative like an escort program to remain within the TSA's guidelines. The complication now appears to be what the TSA defines as an airport that offers commercial service and the fact that it hasn't yet released a list. More...

BACK TO REALITY: FIDDLING TOUR ENDS
AVweb's Fiddling Around America tour wrapped up at Dan Gryder's home base in Griffin, Ga. after about 3,000 nautical miles and 28.5 hours of flying time on a trip that took the Herpa DC-3 as far north as the upper peninsula of Michigan, as far west as Watertown, S.D. and through the Southeast. Gryder said the trip was outreach from the aviation community in a way that is fading fast from the aeronautical scene. He said the cost of flying and maintaining vintage aircraft will make it prohibitive and while he expects to keep the DC-3 in the air for the foreseeable future, the opportunities to see and touch historic aircraft will diminish. More...

FIDDLING AROUND AMERICA: ROUND ENGINES, BIG FORMATIONS
The wake-up call of choice for those attending the annual Red Star Pilots Association fly-in at Gaston's White River Resort in northern Arkansas is the sound of round engines turning for a flight in the dead-still 6 a.m. air. About 20 Nan Changs and Yaks converged on the picturesque resort where the patrons are usually sinking lures for Rainbow Trout instead of boring holes in the sky. The Herpa DC-3 is a major player in the flying, leading a 13-ship formation through the Ozark foothills that demands plenty of the pilots. There were lots of low passes on the 3,200-foot grass strip and the hundreds of residents of neighboring towns who turned out to see the sights were thrilled with the GA spectacle. More...

PRESIDENTIAL TFR BUSTED SIX TIMES
Flight restrictions in place Wednesday and Thursday last week relating to President Barack Obama's visit to Los Angeles apparently caught six pilots unaware and they may now all pay for their it. Each one may now face anything from certificate suspension to revocation. During Obama's overnight in Los Angeles (where he attended a Democratic Party fundraiser) the FAA placed temporary flight restrictions on flights near LAX, Santa Monica, Hawthorne Municipal, Van Nuys and Burbank airports. Five pilots managed to violate provisions that allowed them to fly 12 to 30 miles from Santa Monica airport and one pilot violated the 12-mile restriction that surrounded that airport, FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said. The TFRs were broadly announced, including non-specific mention in newspapers and local TV news broadcasts ahead of the president's visit. More...

EXTREME ALTITUDE BIRD STRIKE PROMPTS ACTION
The Indian air force has slanted to a more ornithologically conscious approach to flight planning following a bird strike involving one of its aircraft and reported in the flight levels. A huge four-engine IAF IL-76 transport was flying at more than 22,000 feet when it struck a yet-unidentified bird. The aircraft landed safely, but the IAF is now involved with genetics labs to secure DNA testing for tissue samples recovered from the aircraft. The idea, aside from determining what species of bird hit what aircraft, is to develop a better understanding of those kinds of threats based on seasonal migration patterns along with likely conflict altitudes and locations. While more than 70 percent of the nearly 80,000 bird strikes reported in the U.S. from 1990-2007 occurred below 500 feet AGL, about 2,000 occurred above 5,000 feet. One was reported at more than 30,000 feet AGL. More...

NTSB WIDENS PUBLIC ACCESS TO CRASH INVESTIGATION INFO
Starting June 1, 2009, the NTSB will begin to release on its public Web site all public dockets regarding to accident investigation. The program helps align the board with the NTSB Freedom of Information Act Improvement Plan and follows closely on the much publicized contortions the FAA went through in considering the withholding of and then providing access to bird-strike data. It also moves the board into compliance with multiple mandates of the legislative and executive branches that are meant to better leverage electronic media to create more transparency in government. Acting NTSB Chairman, Mark V. Rosenker, put the board behind the move saying, "I am proud that the NTSB is taking this enormous step forward by making all accident investigation documents contained in our public dockets available to NTSB Web site visitors." The public dockets will be available in the FOIA electronic reading room. More...

FLIGHT 93 MEMORIAL LAND PLUCKED FROM OWNERS
Eminent domain has been invoked to secure some 500 acres of in Somerset Country, Pa., from seven owners, for a memorial to United Airlines Flight 93, a Boeing 757 that crashed there September 11, 2001, after passengers heeded the call "Let's roll" and attempted to retake the flight from its hijackers. The memorial for the 40 passengers and crew will encompass 1,400 acres, and the Department of Justice has a paperwork deadline at the end of the month. Flight 93 Federal Advisory Commission members, Somerset County Commissioner Pamela Tokar-Ickes and Stonycreek Township Supervisor Gregory Walker, have stepped down in protest of the land grab. Replacements are being sought from a pool of area residents. The National Park Service, which will own the land and could have negotiated for its purchase, was defended by the U.S. Department of Interior. Associate director Steve Whitesell told a local news station "we're at the deadline. We need to start proceeding with construction" to make an opening date of September 11, 2011. Vocal property owners are stating that they were willing to make a less forceful transfer of ownership, but were never engaged in negotiations for the land. More...

NAVY CFM ENGINE MARKS 19,655 HOURS
A CFM56-2A-2 engine has flown 19,655 hours on the wing of an E-6 before its first removal, surpassing the old mark of 15,000 hours and setting a military aviation record, according to the official newspaper of Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center. The engine was maintained regularly throughout its life on the aircraft, but its most recent maintenance was the first ever to require its removal. The Strategic Communications Wing ONE recently celebrated the milestone with an official ceremony at Tinker Air Force Base with representatives from Navy leadership and CFM International. Rear Admiral Mark Skinner told those in attendance that the engine has served the fleet for the last 20 years. The hours flown represent more than six million miles traveled, or enough service to take its aircraft around the world about 250 times. The fleet of engines has, according to FlightGlobal.com, served without in-flight shutdowns over 489,000 hours and 163,000 cycles, and has had only one other removal since 1996. In other words, it's possible the new record-holder could ultimately prove to be among the least impressive of the crop. More...

JATROPHA OIL BIOFUEL UPDATE
Air New Zealand is coming out in strong support of alternative fuel, saying that more than 3,000 pounds of fuel can be saved on a 12-hour flight if that flight is flown on a jatropha-seed-oil biofuel blend instead of straight Jet A. The airline makes the claim after flying the plant's seed oil in a 50:50 blend with Jet A during December 2008 flight tests, pumping the fuel to one Rolls-Royce RB2111 engine aboard a Boeing 747-400. Though the tests consisted of only a few hours, more than a dozen tests were conducted at various altitudes and under a variety of conditions. From that experience the airline believes it has found potential significant savings for the airline industry in fuel and, therefore, carbon footprint that would result in a 60-percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Air New Zealand aims to fulfill 10 percent of its fuel requirements with alternative sources by 2013, but the airline did not work alone on alternative fuel tests. Boeing Continental, Japan Airlines, Air New Zealand and Virgin Atlantic are among those who have conducted tests over the past year and a half. And it appears there is not necessarily agreement on which alternative source would be best, which may complicate fast-tracked certification. More...

VIRGIN GALACTIC'S $200,000 SPACE RIDE INCHES NEARER
Virgin Galactic, the Sir Richard Branson-founded future space tourism provider, Thursday announced that the controllable (on/off) rocket motor to be used in SpaceShipTwo has successfully completed phase-one testing. Virgin believes its hybrid nitrous oxide system is the largest of its kind, capable of propelling payloads (or customers) to more than 2500 mph and heights of more than 65 miles following an aerial launch from its twin-fuselage mothership, Eve. The actual tourism vehicle (SpaceShipTwo) is in the final stages of construction and is expected to embark on its flight test program later in 2009. Virgin is touting the propulsion system as environmentally low-impact, due to the relatively short burn of the rocket motor, thanks to the aerial launch. Going to space via SpaceShipTwo, according to Branson, will involve about 75 percent less pollution per passenger than a trip from London to New York (presumably via airliner). So what's next? More...

Columns | Features | What's New | Calendar | Brainteasers

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: IS STALL TRAINING BROKEN?
If an experienced airline captain can stall an airplane on approach, do we need to rethink how we teach stall awareness? Paul Bertorelli follows that train of thought in the latest installment of our AVweb Insider blog — and wonders if reliance on glass panels may be making things worse. More...

PICTURE OF THE WEEK: AVWEB'S FLYING PHOTOGRAPHY SHOWCASE
Not exactly what you'd expect from a wedding photo, but Doug Bryan of Dallas, Texas tells us he snapped this week's winning shot "outside the Hangar Hotel in Fredericksburg, Texas right after [his] wedding ceremony." Then again, it doesn't sound like a typical wedding: Doug tells us he "had a full day of giving rides to friends, then got married that evening." (Thanks for bearing with us this week as we dug out from under a busy Thursday. The upshot is that we have two batches of reader photos to look forward to during the coming week!) More...

AVWEB'S NEWSTIPS ADDRESS ...
Our best stories start with you. If you've heard something 200,000 pilots might want to know about, tell us. Submit news tips via email to newstips@avweb.com. What have you heard? More...

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: FIDDLING AROUND AMERICA, PART 3 — REVVING THE ENGINES IN WATERTOWN, SD
How many people does it take to start the Pratt 1830s in a DC-3? Three: Two to count blades and one to video it. (And here's that video.) More...

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: FIDDLING AROUND AMERICA, PART 4 — BAMBOO BOMBER TOUR
Many a pilot was trained to fly bombers in the famed Twin Cessna T-50/UC-78 Bamboo Bomber. AVweb recently got a tour of one of these unique airplanes from owners Jack Chapman and Richard Smith. More...

FBO OF THE WEEK: FAIRFIELD AIR VENTURES (KLHQ, LANCASTER, OH)

AVweb's "FBO of the Week" ribbon goes to Fairfield Air Ventures at Fairfield County Airport (KLHQ) in Lancaster, Ohio.

AVweb reader Bruce Sturt recommended the FBO after spending a little more time in Lancaster than he'd planned:

The family and I flew into Fairfield County Airport to visit my in-laws for a Sunday afternoon. We were going to fly back to Toledo in the evening, so I left my 182 on the ramp. A few hours (and hamburgers) later, some t-storms started moving in. My brother-in-law drove me to the airport to secure my bird, but when I got there it was not in sight. Then I saw Steve Slater, the airport manager, and he told me he had put the old girl in a hanger for the night. I thanked him and asked him how much I owed him, and he said "not a dime." I will now always look forward to visiting the in-laws and my friends at Fairfield Air Ventures in Lancaster, Ohio.

Keep those nominations coming. For complete contest rules, click here.

AVweb is actively seeking out the best FBOs in the country and another one, submitted by you, will be spotlighted here next Monday!

SHORT FINAL

Overheard in IFR Magazine's "On the Air"

A few years back, when I only had my VFR ticket with only a few night flights under my belt, I was departing Austin, Texas for Lufkin on a perfectly clear, still night. When getting clearance, I asked the controller for flight following. She told me to talk to departure. It turned out that the same lady was working clearance delivery, ground, and departure — I was her only customer for all three.

Me:
"Departure: [I repeated departure instructions.] And could I get that flight following?"

Departure:
"Cessna Zero Three Quebec, readback correct. But darlin' — there's nobody out there except for you, me, and the owls."

Elena Campbell
Lufkin, Texas

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